CBS President Addresses Les Moonves Investigation: “They Will Get to the Truth”

It’s been one of the most shocking revelations in the wake of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. At CBS’ day at the Television Critics Association, Kelly Kahl, President of CBS Entertainment, addressed the allegations against CEO Les Moonves as well as allegations around other CBS creators like Brad Kern and Jeremy Piven. Though Kahl was unable to give any concrete news about how CBS will move forward in the wake of these scandals, he noted that investigations into Moonves and Kern are being conducted.

Earlier this summer Ronan Farrow revealed in a piece for the New Yorker that six women have accused TV titan of sexual harassment and intimidation. When other companies’ executives faced similar accusations, these scandals have typically ended with companies firing the accused parties. But the Moonves scandal has remained a story because CBS hasn’t taken any major actions against its CEO. On an earnings call as early as August, Moonves was still running the corporation. That call reportedly ignored the allegations completely.

“Obviously this has been a tough week at CBS,” Kahl said. “There was some speculation we might cancel today, but we wanted to be here. There are literally thousands of talented producers, writers, actors, crew, not to mention all the people at CBS who have been preparing for months for the fall season. They’ve all worked incredibly hard and they deserve our best efforts to show all the new shows to all of you,” Kahl said.

He noted that both CBS Film president Terry Press and late night host Stephen Colbert have already spoken out about Moonves before giving his take on the allegations. “Leslie has been an excellent boss and a mentor for a long time,” he said. “At the same time we must respect the voices that come forward. All the allegations need to be and are being taken seriously. As you’ve read, two outside law firms are being retained to investigate.”

The president noted that CBS was committed to a “collaborative, inclusive, and safe workplace.” He also emphasized that he considers CBS as a whole to be a safe work environment with a strong HR department. “I believe we take workplace safety very seriously. I think if you look up and down the halls of CBS you’ll find a very safe environment,” he said.

Kahl was also asked about other CBS employees who have been accused of harassment. Specifically, Wisdom of the Crowd star Jeremy Piven, NCIS: New Orleans showrunner Brad Kern, and former Star Trek: Discovery showrunners Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts were mentioned. Piven and Kern have been accused of sexual harassment, while Berg and Harberts were fired from Star Trek: Discovery allegedly for being verbally abusive.

When asked if CBS needs to undergo a massive cultural change to become a safe workplace, Kahl said, “Any time any allegation comes up on any of our shows, it’s investigated immediately. There’s no wiggle room there.”

When pressed on Kern, who was investigated for sexual harassment in 2016, Kahl revealed that because there have been more complaints about the producer in the press, the investigation has been reopened. “The goal of any investigation internal or external is to get to the truth, and I believe that they will get to the truth,” he said.

But according to Kahl these scandals are unlikely to affect CBS on a creative level. Not only did the president reveal that the network’s creative plans haven’t slowed down, but when asked if CBS shows would be allowed to write storylines based on #MeToo or the Moonves allegations, he noted that they would. “I believe that we give our showrunners and our creators and our executives great latitude to do storylines,” he said. “This is something that is in the news. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it come up. I believe it’s come up some in the past on our shows. And the guidance we give them is to do the best show you can.”

Though CBS’ executive session didn’t come with many answers or even plans for an apology from Moonves, it’s remarkable that it happened during a time when more executives are choosing to avoid TCA rather than face tough questions. Neither NBC nor ABC currently have executive sessions planned for the 2018 TCA summer tour. As for CBS’ future, only time will tell how the company will handle this scandal.